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So You Want to Write? Blog

The Ultimate Guide to Getting a Literary Agent [2020]

The Ultimate Guide to Getting a Literary Agent [2020]
This is a comprehensive guide to finding and signing a deal with a literary agent for your novel or non-fiction book, so you can launch your writi...
Posted in Guide, Literary Agent, Manuscript, Publishing, Query Letter, Tips

How to Write an Effective Query Letter [Part 2]

How to Write an Effective Query Letter [Part 2]
A literary agent is a critical ally in your mission to write a great book and get it published.  To find a literary agent, you'll need to send hi...
Posted in Literary Agent, Publishing, Query Letter, Sam Hiyate, Tips

How to Write an Effective Query Letter [Part 1]

How to Write an Effective Query Letter [Part 1]
A literary agent is a critical ally in your mission to write a great book and get it published.  To find a literary agent, you'll need to send him...
Posted in Literary Agent, Publishing, Query Letter, Sam Hiyate, Tips

How Much Character Development is Too Much?

How Much Character Development is Too Much?
Guest post by author Chase Connor Writers should develop characters like they do their relationships. We meet a coworker, a new friend, a romanti...
Posted in Character, Fiction, Manuscript, Publishing, Tips

The Submission Package: Your One Chance to Impress

The Submission Package: Your One Chance to Impress
By Jessica De Bruyn, Professional Editor The scariest time to be a writer is when you’re sending your work out into the world for the first time...
Posted in Editing, Fiction, Jessica De Bruyn, Manuscript, Nonfiction, Professional Editing

9 Questions to Ask Before Hiring an Editor (by a Professional Editor)

9 Questions to Ask Before Hiring an Editor (by a Professional Editor)
By Jessica De Bruyn, Professional Editor As an editor, one of the most common questions I get is, “When should I hire an editor?” This is not a q...
Posted in Editing, Fiction, Jessica De Bruyn, Manuscript, Nonfiction, Professional Editing

Find Your Literary Agent

Find Your Literary Agent
By Emily Potter When querying time arrives at last, the thought of plunking “agent” into a search engine and firing off a letter to anyone with a...
Posted in Literary Agent, Publishing, Query Letter, Tips

An Interview with Literary Agent & YA/Kidlit Expert Ali McDonald

An Interview with Literary Agent & YA/Kidlit Expert Ali McDonald
For this post we interviewed literary agent Ali McDonald. She’s the lead agent specializing in YA (Young Adult) and children’s literature at lite...
Posted in Ali McDonald, Fiction, Literary Agent, Query Letter, Tips, YA, Young Adult

The Top 10 YA Tropes & How to Avoid Them

The Top 10 YA Tropes & How to Avoid Them
  No time to read this article? Download it as a PDF checklist! Download this Checklist! By Michael Pietrzak The Young Adult (YA) ge...
Posted in Checklist, Fiction, YA, Young Adult

How to Get Unstuck During NaNoWriMo by Emily Potter

The halfway point of NaNoWriMo has come and gone and, if the writing gods happen to be smiling upon you, you are sailing into the home stretch with...

NaNoWriMo Self-Care Tips by Brian Whitmore

1. Eat healthy! Even though National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) may seem like a purely mental game, it's also intensely physical. Your body ha...
Posted in NaNoWriMo, Tips

Why You Should Participate in NaNoWriMo - By Karina Kaushal

This article original appeared at karinakaushal.com The mere fact that you opened this post indicates there’s a book you’re itching to write. Natio...